Woven terry fabric bath and hand towels tend to have a uniform weight distribution from end to end and side to side resulting from a generally uniform construction and height across the length and width of the fabricated finished article. However, during use, it is known that most individuals primarily utilize the central portion of the towel to dry their hands, hair, and bodies, while the ends of the towel are less frequently used for these purposes and more commonly serve to provide a means by which one holds the towel.
Laundering towels consumes significant resources. In particular, towels tend to be made from hydrophilic materials that require significant amounts of detergents or soaps to clean, water to rinse, and heat to dry. Moreover, facilities that pay to process towels and other terry cloth articles on a large scale typically pay according to article weight for laundering services. Reducing the weight of towels could reduce the resources and costs to launder the towels. One way to reduce the weight of a towel is to reduce the pile height in the towel. However, the absorbency of a towel corresponds to the weight of the towel and the total weight of the towel is often a significant influence on the perception of towel quality. As such, a lighter weight towel with a reduced pile height will tend to be less absorbent and will tend to have a less luxurious feel than a heavier weight towel. This can be particularly important in the hospitality industry where patrons often prefer and expect heavy weight towels as a sign of quality and luxury.